Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission Sets Fall Shrimp Season

(Aug. 2, 2012) – Today, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission announced the fall inshore shrimp season will open at 6 a.m. on Monday, August 13, 2012, in state inside waters from the Atchafalaya River and Atchafalaya River Ship Channel westward to the Louisiana/Texas state line. State inside waters from the Atchafalaya River eastward to the Mississippi/Louisiana state line will open to shrimping 12 hours later, at 6 p.m.

The commission set the season based on recommendations presented by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists and comments from the public.

Some areas are still closed to commercial fishing and certain recreational fishing activities due to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Maps of the areas that remain closed to recreational and commercial fishing are posted to the LDWF website at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/oilspill.

The commission granted authority to the LDWF Secretary to close the fall shrimp season when biological and technical data indicates the need and to open and close special shrimp seasons.

Preliminary Louisiana shrimp landings statistics provided by NOAA Fisheries Service indicate that approximately 21.8 million pounds of shrimp (all species combined/heads-off weight) were landed in Louisiana from January through June 2012.

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb, or follow us on Twitter @LDWF.